Stephen Bigelow, PhD - Education Leadership

  In recent days, I have had conversations with parents about something many schools are wrestling with right now the role of technology in learning. The concern is a fair one and an important one. Are students spending too much time on screens? Are devices becoming a distraction rather than a tool? Are we losing something essential in the process? I will be candid I share some of these concerns. And I also know that the answer is not as simple as removing devices from classrooms altogether. A Familiar Pattern in Education Education has always moved through cycles. We adopt new tools with enthusiasm, sometimes overcorrect, and then, over time, find a more thoughtful balance. We saw it with calculators, with the internet, and now with laptops and tablets. In fact, I found myself thinking back to a piece I wrote a little over a year ago, 21st Century Learning A Quarter Past , where I reflected on how quickly 21st century learning evolved from a forward looking concept into something...

I have been back in Brazil for almost a week now, and the kindness people have shown has been extraordinary. The messages, conversations, and gestures of support have meant more to me than I can fully express. But in many ways, I’m not surprised. That has been my experience with Brazil from the very beginning. It is a place where people lead with warmth and generosity. Brazil has also been a place of enormous change and growth for me. When I first came here, it was always with the assumption that my wife, Kristin, would eventually be living here with me. That was part of the story we were writing together. Life, of course, sometimes rewrites the story. Kristin and I started dating when I was a junior at the University of Michigan. She was a senior, "the older woman". We were engaged during my senior year and married when I was just 22 years old. I am now 50, and our daughter is following our footsteps by studying at UofM. And now, for the first time in my adult life, I find m...

It is very early on a Thursday morning as I write this. Jet lag, emotion, and life have a way of waking you before the sun. I want to say thank you. The messages, calls, notes, and quiet gestures of support over the past few days have meant more than I can possibly express. When life tilts suddenly, you find out very quickly how many people are standing nearby, ready to steady you. I have felt that steadiness. Kristin was an extraordinary woman. We met in college as two kids who thought we had things figured out. We grew up together over nearly 30 years, married almost 28 of them. Most of the best parts of me were sharpened, softened, strengthened, or outright created because of her. She had high standards, deep empathy, a subtle sense of humor, and a fierce love for her family. She was also far more private than I am. And out of love and respect for her, that privacy will remain. Some stories are sacred. Some struggles are not meant for public consumption. What I will say is this: she...